Shelley Alexis Duvall (July 7, 1949 – July 11, 2024) was an American actress and producer. Known for her distinctive screen presence, portrayals of eccentric characters, and later productions in children's programming, her accolades include aCannes Award and aPeabody Award, in addition to nominations for aBritish Academy Film Award and twoPrimetime Emmy Awards. Four of Duvall's films have been preserved in theNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" as of 2025.[1]
Duvall was born inFort Worth, Texas, and raised in Houston, Texas, and was initially interested in science. In 1970, she was hosting a party for her boyfriend of the time at her house, where she was discovered by filmmakerRobert Altman. Impressed by her upbeat personality, Altman cast her in theblack comedy filmBrewster McCloud that same year. She rose to fame by collaborating with Altman throughout the 1970s, appearing in the Western filmMcCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), the crime filmThieves Like Us (1974), and the musicalNashville (1975). She received critical acclaim for her performance in Altman's psychological drama film3 Women (1977), which earned her aCannes Award and a nomination for theBAFTA Award for Best Actress. That same year, she had a supporting role inWoody Allen's romantic comedyAnnie Hall. She became one of the most successful actresses of the 1970s by the end of the decade.
In the 1990s, Duvall sold her companies and acted infrequently, notably appearing inSteven Soderbergh's thriller filmThe Underneath (1995) andJane Campion's drama filmThe Portrait of a Lady (1996). After her role inGabrielle Burton's comedy filmManna from Heaven (2002), she announced an indefinite hiatus from acting. Her mental health during this period was covered by the media, briefly turning her private life public. She returned and announced a comeback in 2022 with theindependent filmThe Forest Hills (2023), which would become her final role. Duvall died ofdiabetes complications on July 11, 2024.[2]
Shelley Alexis Duvall was born on July 7, 1949,[3][4] inFort Worth, Texas,[5][6][7] the first child of Bobbie Ruth Crawford (née Massengale, 1929–2020), a real estate broker and in the legal field,[8] and Robert Richardson "Bobby" Duvall (1919–1994), a cattle auctioneer-turned-lawyer.[7][9] Her younger brothers were Scott, Shane, and Stewart.[10]
For her first few years, Duvall lived in various locations throughout Texas due to her father's work, before the family settled inHouston when she was five years old.[7] She was in a choir.[8] She was an artistic and energetic young child, eventually earning the nickname "Manic Mouse" from her mother.[11] Growing up, Duvall's only exposure to acting was when she forgot her lines to Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees" in a sixth-grade talent show. She became interested in science at a young age; as a teenager she aspired to become a scientist.[7] After graduating fromWaltrip High School in 1967,[12] she sold cosmetics atFoley's, a department store; she attendedSouth Texas Junior College and majored in nutrition and diet therapy.[11] Duvall dropped out of college shortly after when she witnessed a monkeyvivisection.[13]
Duvall in 1971, after her discovery by filmmakerRobert Altman
On April Fool's Day 1970, Duvall was hosting a party in Houston for her artist boyfriend, Bernard Sampson, when three crew members in town forBrewster McCloud (1970) pre-production arrived. Intrigued by Duvall's offbeat looks and hyper-enthusiasm, they invited her to pitch Bernard’s paintings the next day to "art patrons". In a surreptitious casting call led byRobert Altman,Bert Remsen, andLou Adler, they asked her to be part of the feature instead.[14] Altman reflected on casting Shelley: "I was really quite mean to her, as I thought she was an actress. But she wasn’t kidding; that was her. She was an untrained, truthful person. She was very raw in Brewster but quite magic."[15] Filmed in the summer of 1970, Duvall appeared in the film as Suzanne Davis, anAstrodome tour guide and the free-spirited love interest toBud Cort's reclusive Brewster.[5][16] After filming ended Duvall left Texas for the first time flying across the country with duties to promote the film, appearing in several publications and photoshoots such asVogue andShow Magazine. Though not an immediate success, the film was received positively and brought attention to Duvall.[17] Beatrice Loayza ofThe Atlantic believes her character "would've seemed innocuous enough were it not for the actor's hypnotic charms".[18]
FollowingBrewster McCloud, Duvall became a protégé of Altman. Her first commercial success came with playing the supporting character of an unsatisfiedmail-order bride inMcCabe & Mrs. Miller, released in 1971.[19] It was received negatively upon release but has retrospectively been acclaimed, and it is Duvall's first film to enter the United StatesNational Film Registry.[20] Her leading role as Keechie, the forlorn daughter of a convict, inThieves Like Us followed three years later in 1974.[21] Her experience inThieves Like Us made her realize she wanted to take acting seriously. Duvall reflected on this turning point: “Until then it had been a piece of cake. Then I began realizing about technique, began learning, began being a little scared."[22]
Duvall had herbreakthrough for playing Martha, a spaced-outgroupie, in Altman's 1975 ensemble comedy filmNashville.[23] The film was a major critical and commercial success, becoming the most "talked about American movie" and grossing $10 million.[24][25]Keith Carradine, who collaborated with Duvall onThieves Like Us andNashville, toldVariety: "She had that fascinating physical appearance, there was something slightly off-center and hauntingly beautiful about her. And then she had that extraordinary personality; she was quirky and just utterly enchanting. What you saw on screen, that's just who she was."[26]Nashville would be her second film selected for the National Film Registry.[27] The following year, she played the First Lady, wife of Grover Cleveland, in Altman'sBuffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson, which was released to mixed reviews.[28] Also in 1976, Duvall starred as Bernice, a wealthy girl fromWisconsin, in thePBS adaptation ofF. Scott Fitzgerald's short storyBernice Bobs Her Hair.[29]
1977–1981: Critical acclaim and mainstream recognition
In 1977, Duvall gave what some critics considered to be one of her best performances in Altman'spsychological thriller3 Women, portraying Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux, a woman living in a dreary California desert town.[30] Although there was a written screenplay, Duvall, like other cast members,improvised many of her lines.[31] In spite of the film not being a major box-office success, it received critical acclaim.[32]Texas Monthly critics Marie Brenner and Jesse Kornbluth praised Duvall for giving an "extraordinary performance".[33]Michael Sragow ofThe New Yorker called her "brilliant: she coins a brand-new caricature of the confident yet clueless single female, then suggests a real person underneath."[34] Robbie Freeling ofIndieWire believed the film succeeded because of Duvall: "it's one of the finest films of the seventies, and Duvall deserves a lion's share of the credit."[35]Anne Billson atThe Guardian agreed, calling it "peak Duvall" and "quite simply one of the greatest performances of the 1970s."[36] Her performance garnered theCannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and theLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress,[37] as well as aBritish Academy Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role nomination.[38] Also in 1977, she appeared in a minor role inWoody Allen'sAnnie Hall,[39] her third film to be added to the National Film Registry,[27] and hosted an evening ofSaturday Night Live.[40] OnSaturday Night Live, she appeared in five sketches: "Programming Change", "Video Vixens", "Night of the Moonies", "Van Arguments", and "Goodnights".[41][42]
Duvall's next role was portrayingWendy Torrance in the horror filmThe Shining (1980), directed byStanley Kubrick.Jack Nicholson said in the 2001 documentaryStanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures that Kubrick was great to work with but that he was "a different director" with her. Because of his methodical nature,principal photography took a year to complete. The film's script was changed so often that Nicholson stopped reading each draft. Kubrick antagonized his actors, and he and she argued frequently. He intentionally isolated her and went through exhausting shoots, such as thebaseball bat scene, which she had performed 127 times,[43][44] although the validity of this story has been questioned.[45] Afterward, she presented Kubrick with clumps of hair that had fallen out due to the extreme stress of filming.[46] For the last nine months of shooting, she said that the role required her to cry twelve hours a day, five or six days a week,[47] and "it was so difficult being hysterical for that length of time".[48] In an interview withRoger Ebert, Duvall said that making the film was "almost unbearable. But from other points of view, really very nice, I suppose."[49] In a 2001 interview, she later said "I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. Why? Because of Stanley. And it was a fascinating learning experience, it was such intense work that I think it makes you smarter. But I wouldn't want to go through it again."[50] In a 2021 interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Duvall spoke openly of the emotional toll of the role and the challenges of long days on the set, but said that Kubrick was "very warm and friendly" to her.[3]
Duvall earned positive reviews for her performance inThe Shining,[51] but she was controversially nominated forWorst Actress at theGolden Raspberry Awards' inaugural ceremony; it was rescinded on March 31, 2022,[52] and Golden Raspberries cofounder Maureen Murphy said she regretted nominating Duvall.[53][54]The Shining is her fourth and final film to enter the National Film Registry.[55] Billson ofThe Guardian stated that "Duvall's horrified reactions as her husband reveals himself to be a mortal threat provide the film with many of its iconic moments."[56]Bilge Ebiri ofVulture wrote: "Looking into Duvall's huge eyes from the front row of a theater, I found myself riveted by a very poignant form of fear. Not the fear of an actor out of her element, or the more mundane fear of a victim being chased around by an ax-wielding maniac. Rather, it was something far more disquieting, and familiar: the fear of a wife who's experienced her husband at his worst, and is terrified that she'll experience it again."[57] Jessica Jalali ofScreen Rant ranked it the best performance of her career, calling her "the heart of the film; she is out of her depth in dealing with her husband's looming insanity while trying to protect her young son, all while being fearful of the malevolence around her".[58] Tim Grierson ofRogerEbert.com similarly called it one of her best performances, writing that "This is no simple "scream queen" performance as Duvall makes Wendy's terror and determination grippingly, movingly real. Did Kubrick push her to extremes to reach such heights? Perhaps, but the accomplishment is Duvall's, full stop."[59]
While Duvall was in London shootingThe Shining, Robert Altman cast her to portrayOlive Oyl in his big-screen adaptation ofPopeye, oppositeRobin Williams. The film was also released in 1980 to commercial success.Popeye received negative critical reviews upon release, but the reviews have improved over time; Duvall was nonetheless praised for her performance.[60][61] Roger Ebert wrote: "Duvall is like a precious piece of china with a tinkling personality. She looks and sounds like almost nobody else, and if it is true that she was born to play the character Olive Oyl (and does so in Altman's new musicalPopeye), it is also true that she has possibly played more really different kinds of characters than almost any other young actress of the 1970s."[62] Staff atVariety agreed that Duvall "makes a delightful Olive Oyl".[63] Better received wasTerry Gilliam'sTime Bandits (1981), where she played a small supporting role.[64] It was critically acclaimed and a box-office success.[65]
1982–1992: Continued success and television projects
In 1982, Duvall narrated, hosted, and was executive producer of the children's television programFaerie Tale Theatre. She starred in seven episodes of the series; "Rumpelstiltskin" (1982), "Rapunzel" (1983), "The Nightingale" (1983), "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1984), "Puss in Boots" (1985), and "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" (1986). Before the program's first episode "The Frog Prince", which starredRobin Williams andTeri Garr,[66] Duvall produced 27 hour-long episodes of the program. In 1985, she createdTall Tales & Legends, another one-hour anthology series forShowtime, which featured adaptations of American folk tales. As withFaerie Tale Theatre, the series starred well-known Hollywood actors with Duvall as host, executive producer, and occasional guest star. The series ran for nine episodes and garnered Duvall anEmmy nomination.[67][68]
Duvall next landed roles as the mother of a boy whose dog is struck by car inTim Burton's short filmFrankenweenie (1984), and as Laura Burroughs inBooker (also 1984), a biographical television short based on the life ofBooker T. Washington, directed byStan Lathan.[69] Of her role inFrankenweenie, Jacob Slankard ofCollider described Duvall as "the most persuasive tool" Burton had, and believed he succeeded in "calling on an actress who can signal to the audience that she's much more than her initial bearings make her out to be, and that was Duvall's specialty."[70] She next appeared as a lonely and timid woman who receives a message from a flying saucer inThe Twilight Zone episode "The Once and Future King/A Saucer of Loneliness" (1987), and the friend ofSteve Martin's character in the comedyRoxanne (also 1987).[71][72]
In 1988, Duvall founded a new production company calledThink Entertainment to develop programs and television movies for cable channels. She had started another production company, Platypus, in 1982. She createdNightmare Classics (1989), a third Showtime anthology series, which featured adaptations of well-known horror stories by authors includingEdgar Allan Poe. Unlike the previous two series,Nightmare Classics was aimed at a teenage and adult audience. It was the least successful series that Duvall produced for Showtime and ran for only four episodes.[73]
In 1990, she playedLittle Bo Peep inMother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme, which she also produced.[3] In 1991, Duvall portrayed Jenny Wilcox, the wife of Charlie Wilcox (Christopher Lloyd) in theHulk Hogan action-adventure filmSuburban Commando.[74] In October of the same year, Duvall released two compact discs,Hello, I'm Shelley Duvall... Sweet Dreams, which feature Duvall singinglullaby songs andHello, I'm Shelley Duvall... Merry Christmas, on which Duvall sings Christmas songs.[75][76]
In 1992, Think Entertainment joined the newly formedUniversal Family Entertainment to create Duvall's fourth Showtime original series,Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories,[77] which featured animated adaptations of children's storybooks with celebrity narrators and garnered her a second Emmy nomination. Also in 1992, she landed a guest spot on the television seriesL.A. Law as ashow dog owner and breeder who presses charges against the owner of aWelsh Corgi that mated with her prize-winningAfghan Hound.[78]
While Duvall was producingFaerie Tale Theatre, it was reported that she was to star as the lead in the film adaptation ofTom Robbins'sEven Cowgirls Get the Blues, which was also to starMick Jagger,Jerry Hall, Cindy Hall, andSissy Spacek.[79] The project was delayed and, when finally released in 1993, starred an entirely different cast. Also in 1993, Duvall produced a fifth series for Showtime,Mrs. Piggle Wiggle,[80] before selling Think Entertainment in 1993 and retiring as a producer.
In the 2000s, she accepted minor roles, including the mother ofMatthew Lawrence's character in the horror-comedyBoltneck (2000) andHaylie Duff's aunt in the independent family filmDreams in the Attic, which was sold to theDisney Channel but was never released.[87] After a small role in the 2002 independent filmManna from Heaven, Duvall took an extended hiatus from acting and public life.[88] In an interview withPeople magazine, Duvall said of her retirement: "It's the longest sabbatical I ever took, but it was for really important reasons—to get in touch with my family again."[89] During this time, she kept her personal life private, which nonetheless received media coverage.[90]
Duvall in a promotional trailer forThe Forest Hills (2023), her final role
After a 20-year absence, it was announced in October 2022 that Duvall would be acting inThe Forest Hills, anindependent horror-thriller film directed and written by Scott Goldberg.[91][92] The film is about a man "tormented by nightmarish visions after experiencing head trauma in theCatskill woods." Initially playing acameo role, Duvall joined theensemble after expressing interest in performing more scenes. She described her acting comeback as "so much fun" and joked that "Jessica Tandy won anOscar when she was 80. I can still win."[89] ToEntertainment Weekly, Goldberg described her as "an amazing actress to work with, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to direct her."[93] Duvall reportedly experienced discomfort and pains while filming, but she worked this into her performance as a form ofmethod acting.[94]
A trailer forThe Forest Hills was released in November 2022,[95] and it premiered at Smodcastle Cinemas inAtlantic Highlands, New Jersey in March 2023.[96] A second trailer was released in September 2024, and the film was digitally released in October 2024.[97][98]The Forest Hills received negative critic reviews and little attention, but Duvall's involvement received some praise. Paul Lê ofBloody Disgusting, writing that she "impacts the whole movie" but had too small of a role.[99]Rue Morgue's Chris Hallock agreed that her appearance was brief, but nonetheless wrote, "her undeniable charisma and commanding presence provides a solemn grounding to the film's chaotic proceedings. The beloved actor looks confident in front of the camera".[100]
Duvall married artist Bernard Sampson in 1970, but their marriage disintegrated as Duvall's acting career accelerated, leading to their divorce in 1974.[7] She met 26-year-old tobacco heirPatrick Reynolds in a Hollywood nightclub. Duvall invited Reynolds to the set ofNashville, where director Robert Altman cast him in the film. Reynolds and Duvall lived together until 1976.[101]
While she was shootingAnnie Hall in New York in 1976, Duvall met singer-songwriterPaul Simon.[102] The couple began a relationship and lived together for two years.[103] Their relationship ended when Duvall introduced Simon to her friend, actressCarrie Fisher, and the two began dating.[104][105] Duvall briefly dated musicianRingo Starr in 1978.[106][107]
Duvall was in a relationship with musician and formerBreakfast Club lead vocalistDan Gilroy from 1989 through the remainder of her life.[108] The pair began their relationship after she cast him inMother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme. She had no children, but always had a menagerie of pets.[109]
In November 2016, Duvall was interviewed byPhil McGraw on his daytime talk show,Dr. Phil, about hermental illness.[112] The segment received significant criticism from the public,[113] with some claiming she wasexploited.[114]Vivian Kubrick, daughter of director Stanley Kubrick, posted an open letter to McGraw on Twitter,[115] while actressMia Farrow tweeted that it was "upsetting and unethical to exploit Shelley Duvall at this vulnerable time in her life".[116]
DirectorLee Unkrich located Duvall in 2018 to interview her for his book,Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Unkrich noted that Duvall remained very proud of her career.[3] In 2021, Seth Abramovitch, writer forThe Hollywood Reporter, found Duvall for an interview saying, "I only knew that it didn't feel right for McGraw's insensitive sideshow to be the final word on her legacy."[117] The article noted that her memory was "sharp and full of engrossing stories".[118]
After several months inhospice care, Duvall died due to complications fromdiabetes at her home in Blanco, on July 11, 2024.[119] Her death was announced by Gilroy toThe Hollywood Reporter.[107][120] Several tributes were posted to Duvall, including messages fromStephen King and the Stanley Kubrick estate.[121]
Known for her charismatic, upbeat presence, Duvall is considered one of the most successful actresses of the 1970s.[122] Four of her films have been inducted in the United StatesNational Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant":[1]McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971),[123]Nashville (1975),[27]Annie Hall (1977),[27] andThe Shining (1980).[55] For her role in the lattermost, she was established as ascream queen by several publications.[124]MovieWeb ranked Duvall as the fifth-best scream queen of all time, writing that her performance inThe Shining was "a thing of glory".[125] She is also credited by theLos Angeles Times for reviving children's television.[126]
Beatrice Loayza ofThe Atlantic said that Duvall was "made for the screen" and called her "a gravitational force".[18] Günseli Yalcinkaya ofDazed dubbed her the "queen of awkward beauty" and "one of the most magnetic on-screen presences of the last century."[127] Robert Lang ofDeadline Hollywood deemed Duvall as the 1970s "cinema's new darling".[128]Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian described her as "unique and often misunderstood" and said she "was intensely modern, the very face of theNew American Cinema, but was also in her slender grace and wide-eyed charm, and her way with a cigarette, a neo-flapper, a kind of 20s or 30s woman reborn long after the second world war which also made her an excellent casting choice inperiod movies."[129]The New York Times called her a "fixture" of Hollywood,[8] and wrote: "With her gossamer frame and toothy smile, she was one of the biggest film stars of the 1970s."[122]The New Yorker criticPauline Kael once called her the "femaleBuster Keaton" and believed she was "bizarrely original… able to be herself on the screen in a way that nobody has ever been before."[130][131] Giacomo Aricò ofVogue deemed her "bewitching" and a "master of cinema".[132]
Jamie Lee Curtis cited Duvall as an influence, writing: "She showed that you could change and grow and develop and, of course, now we see so many wonderful actresses and actors become producers and directors and creators. Thank you, Shelley Duvall. You are a legend."[133]Julianne Moore called Duvall "one of the women that made me want to become an actress. She was fascinating, original, vulnerable and inscrutable all at once."[134] Others who have praised her work in tributes includeWoody Allen, Mia Farrow,Daryl Hannah,Michael Palin,Malcolm McDowell, andPaul Simon.[135][136][137]
In the 2020s, clips of Duvall hostingFaerie Tale Theatre wentviral on social media, such asTikTok, where the phrase "Hello, I'm Shelley Duvall" has frequently been sampled.[138] The resurgence ofFaerie Tale Theatre helped introduce her toGeneration Z.[139] Since 2021, Sarah Lukowski of the online Shelley Duvall Archive[140] has been documenting Duvall's extensive career and post-Hollywood life as a fan-turned-friend of the reclusive star.[141]
^Kleiner, Dick (July 12, 1992)."Ask Dick".Santa Maria Times. p. C2.Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. RetrievedAugust 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Thieves Like Us".Two Women: Early Films of Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duval. Brooklyn Academy of Music. July 8, 2024.Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. RetrievedJuly 12, 2024.
^Ardmore, Jane (December 1980). "All Eyes on Olive Oyl: For Shelley Duvall It's Popeye Love".Sunday Woman.
^Desowitz, Bill (March 21, 2023)."The Shining Book Sets Record Straight on Kubrick's Multiple Takes, Shelley Duvall, and Cheese Sandwiches".IndieWire. RetrievedJuly 12, 2024.I mean, I have all shot logs for the entire movie. So I know how many takes were done on every shot. And they often talk about this scene with Wendy and the bat on the stairs. It's even in The Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of takes [127]. And it's completely not true… there were no more than 15 takes for any one set-up/shot. It was reported by a crew member who wasn't even on the set when it was shot.
^Bro Bob."Actress Haylie Duff – The Beginning".haileyduff.com. Archived fromthe original on January 16, 2022. RetrievedOctober 3, 2016.... the sad thing was that all these efforts never resulted in the film being sold to anyone.
^Reynolds, Patrick; Shachtman, Tom (1989).The gilded leaf: triumph, tragedy, and tobacco ; three generations of the R.J. Reynolds family and fortune. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown.ISBN978-0-316-74121-7.
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
